Jean and other former students of Sister Cathy believe that the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the authorities covered up Sister Cathy's murder after she suspected Father Maskell was sexually abusing several young girls at the school. In the process of cleaning out her belongings, Radakovic discovered her mom had collected years of articles about the death of her eldest daughter, Radakovics sister, 26-year-old nun Sister Catherine Cathy Cesnik. Amateur sleuths have continued tracking the famous cold case in a new podcast series. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, 'The Keepers' Filmmaker: Father Maskell Abused 40 Victims, Not Just the 6 in Netflix's Doc. How did the women keep their faith and how were they able to move on and have kids after what they went through? I've talked to the hunter that found Cathy, and he said that since the day he found her the police have never talked to him. However, she didnt want to go on the record. Though the documentary includes much of the story, director Ryan White doesnt include every piece of evidence, and some of the most crucial information gets left out. 'Father Maskell picked me up, took me to a wooded area where there was a lot of policemen gathered around, he left me in the backseat and two policemen abused me while Maskell stood next to the car. She still spends at least part of every day trying to find those people. Shes so driven to find out what happened to her teacher. She was a member of the Keough class of 1971. Wehner alleged that there was frequent sexual abuse at Sister Cathy's school. I wont tell you my theory, but I will say: I believe Jean, and I have corroboratedJean, that this is a woman who was telling the truth from the beginning. In the show, the audience briefly hears about the fact that Ireland has claims on A. Joseph Maskell, as well, that the Catholic Church continues to cover up. ', He theorized that because there had been no signs of a struggle, 'it looked too clean. There are countless untold stories backing up the accusations made against A. Joseph Maskell and the Catholic Church that the docuseries doesnt even begin to explore. They did stuff. Father Joseph Maskell, who died in 2001, was widely accused of sexually abusing girls at the school where Sister Cathy worked and is believed to be involved in her murder. The plaintiffs suits are thus barred by the statute of limitation. Soon they were linking that abuse to Sister Cathy's murder, and speculation that she was going to blow the whistle and tell all. Nearly 20 years ago, Nugent had been calling many former students from the now-closed Archbishop Keough High School, for a story on Sister Cesnik, who was murdered in 1969. Do not sell or share my personal information. It had to be somebody who knew her.'. That was the first time I had learned of any of this.. In 2016, the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) reassigned the case due to retiring officers, prompting new interviews and further investigation into the alleged sexual abuse at Keough. Possibly Missing: 1)An engagement gift 2) $255 cash (minus the rolls and gift?) It allowed for Cesnik's . RELATED:16 TV Shows Too Disturbing To Binge-Watch, Most dont believe Gerry Koob when he talks, but a member of the police force, Detective Roemer, claimed that Koob confessed to having a sexual relationship with Sister Cathy before her disappearance. White can only say this about it: Her story is chilling.. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. RELATED:Netflixs Tiger King: 15 Best Joe Exotic Quotes. They encourage everyone reading this to question everything, stay hydrated, and treat others with kindness. He refuses to be identified, allegedly because he fears reprisals from people responsible for the cover-up of Sister Cathy's death and Maskell's abuse. Joseph Cesnik in 1930 Census; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; 1930 United States Federal Census; National Archives and Records Administration. When her daughter was born five years after that, Radakovic named her Catherine. Still wondering what happened to Baltimore's Sister Cathy? Its possible Flaherty and Maskell had some deeper connection at the time that has simply been completely overlooked. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. And I had spent time trying to convince my parents, Shes alive, lets find out what the letter says, shes tellin us where she is, we need to go, we need to find her, we need to help her. , I dont think we thought she was dead, Radakovic remembers. Catherine Anne Cesnik was born on November 17, 1942, in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tom Nugent, author of the acclaimed Death at Buffalo Creek, and an investigative journalist, has been writing about Sister Cathys case since 1994, and recently in his online publication, Inside Baltimore.. In another scenario, James Maskell arrested a man named Phillip Shane after the two of them got into an altercation and Maskell lied about how they came to blows. Her unsolved murder served as the basis for the Netflix documentary series The Keepers in 2017. White, the Keepers director, said nearly the same thing in a separate interview. The spot was not easily accessible to a casual passerby. As time would tell, she had good reason to keep quiet. Sharon Mays husband, V. Eric W. May, Sr., was a state cop while Sharon was a prosecutor, providing the two of them even more opportunity to participate in a cover-up. ', Sister Cathy was reportedly counseling an abuse victim earlier on the day she went missing and many believe she was murdered before she could report the crimes, People close to the nun believethat Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it'. She was comfortablewith that the long length of production actuallyhelped her comfort level. Also Read: 'The Keepers': Sister Cathy's Medical Examiner Also Worked on JFK, JonBenet Ramsey Cases. One of the students who was abused told Nugent that Sister Cathy was a very brave women who tried her best to help those who were abused and she paid for it with her life., The victim continued: I honor her spirit and I still feel very close to her, even today. Tom NugentFreelance journalist Tom Nugent covered Sister Cathy's death starting in 1994. What do you think happened to Sister Cathy? On November 7, 1969, 26-year-old Sister Catherine Cesnik vanished. Days later, after an engagement party with her then-fiancs family, Radakovic got a call from her mother. She had brown hair and brown eyes. It was early 2016 and the couple was at the California apartment of Radakovics mother, who had recently died. Updated by Nicole Mello on June 14, 2020: Justice still has not been found for Sister Cathy. Meteorological records also reveal that temperatures during the week in question were warm enough for maggots to hatch. On May 17, the Baltimore Sun reported that his DNA did not match a sample that was taken. Her body was found a few months later, discarded unceremoniously in a garbage dump. I was raised Catholic and I had a very positive experience. One of the most famous pieces of evidence from the show is the cigarette butt shown in episode six, found near Sister Cathys body. While the case remains open, allegations of sexual abuse by Father Maskell, and Sister's Cathy's plan to blow the whistle along with a possible cover up by the Catholic Church with close ties to law enforcement are at the heart of the horrendous case. Schaub was previously a nurse. I think this is it, Hoskins said, in a recent interview. Either way, theyre lying and withholding information that would be helpful to the case. [4] Cesnik had three siblings. No one, not even fellow Keough graduates, knew that Jean Hargadon-Wehner was the so-called "Jane Doe" who came forward in the early 1990's and accused the Archdiocese of Baltimore of allowing the abuse to continue. His aunt was also friends with Jean Wehner, one of multiple people in the documentarywho say they were sexually abused by Father Joseph Maskell in the Baltimore, Maryland area. Father Maskell was a counselor and chaplain at Archbishop Keough from 1967 to 1975. Giangrasso, pointing to the discovery of the car, and the fact that it was returned close to where Sister Cathy lived, theorized that the killer was someone who she knew and possibly whom she trusted. The comments below have not been moderated. White describes Radakovic as very brave, very outspoken, very direct and now, I would say, very, very driven to get answers.. Catherine Anne Cesnik SSND (born November 17, 1942; disappeared November 7, 1969) was an American Catholic religious sister who taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Published on May 18, 2017 10:03 AM. I hope this documentary can be a tool of healing, but its about to be very triggering for the survivors, saidWhite. Both women have said that she was the only member of the school's staff who helped them and other girls abused by Maskell, et al., and have said that she was murdered prior to discussing the matter with the archdiocese of Baltimore. She chose not to charge Maskell, saying the case lacked evidence. He claims he interviewed more than 100 girls in the case who knew of or were involved in sexual abuse. What we do know is that the FBIs continuing failure to contribute meaningfully to this case has negatively impacted any chance at an ending to the story. Obviously, the story grew and grew and one of our first access points was Gemma. Making a Murderer was sucha phenomenon and if we have a fraction the popularity of Making a Murderer, I will be a happy filmmaker. After the series premiered, messages started to arrive from around the world with new information. "The Keepers" premieres on Netflix May 19. Nearly 10 years ago the filmmakers started to meet with her; this was long before Netflix got involved. What the show doesnt touch on, however, is Koobs supposed relationship with Sister Cathy. [11] Cesnik's body was not found until January 3, 1970, and its discovery by two hunters was not in the wooded location near Fort Meade, but on the open hill trash dump of a small business property in Lansdowne. Stuff being crimes, and they're walking around.. The prime suspect in Sister Cathys murder was a priest, the late Father A. Joseph Maskell. Cesnik was born in 1942 and grew up to become a nun at the all-girls Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, where . Though White says he included absolutely all the information he knew in the documentary, he did contradict himself later by saying, The project was heavily vetted by lawyers there were times when I believed we knew somebody that was involved in the abuse, but we couldn't include a name for legal reasons. True crime buffs will know that this often happens, that the law tangles everything up in red tape so details like names and dates will be removed from stories. People walked to suicide, people are still hiding and keeping their secrets, and I think all of the survivors recognize the power in numbers. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. We would go to Baltimore every two months for the last three years, so people started to feel comfortable around us Survivors would reach out to us on Facebook. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? NEXT:10 Creepy Documentaries To Watch If You Loved The Keepers. . It would be two months later, on January 3, 1970, that a couple of hunters came upon Sister Cathy's decomposed, frozen and mutilated body, and notified police. . Well, its funny how you asked that because I never saw it as taking on the Catholic Church. Koob was a Jesuit priest at the time of Sister Cathys murder. Her former students believe that Sister Cathy was murdered as part of a cover-up to protect a priest at the school, A. Joseph Maskell, who Cesnik suspected was guilty of sexual abuse of students. 2021 Updates on The 50-Year-Old Unsolved Murder Case of Sister Cathy Cesnik | by Rameen Zeeshan | Lessons from History | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. He said that when he told his mother of the abuse, she told the Baltimore Archdiocese in 1967 -- two years before Sister Cathy's murder. As documentary-maker Ryan White asserted: 'What we discovered during the filmmaking process is that everything wasn't as it appeared to be. Baltimore nun Cathy Cesnik, 26, vanished while out on a shopping trip in November 7, 1969. Unless some brave sleuths or particularly inspired detectives go digging, Keough High School is now, for better or worse, closed to a continuing story. This is huge news regarding Sister Cathy's case. Edgar DavidsonAccording to his first wife, who speaks in the documentary under condition of anonymity, Davidson talked about being involved in Sister Cathy's murder in 1969. So-called Grandma Nancy Drew Gemma Hoskins has spent years asking for the federal case files on Joyce Maleckis murder. Mine isdifferent than Gemmas theory, but we were all looking at the various versions of the truth and deciding what we believed was true. In 1994, Fr. Throughout the series,the devastation experienced bysurvivors is laid bare,as is theirstrength in confronting unthinkable childhood horrors. I never grew up knowing her teacher had been murdered. Several days later, on November 13, 1969, the body of Joyce Malecki, a 20-year-old woman who looked like Wehner, was discovered by two hunters in the same wooded location where Maskell had driven Wehner. v. A. Joseph Maskell et al. The more peoplewatch it, the more information will come out of the woodwork. Nicole currently resides in Massachusetts with their husband and two best friends. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. Donna VonDenBoschDonna VonDenBosch also has come forward as one of Maskell's abuse victims as a member of the Keough class of 1974. However, the Catholic Church is completely unwilling to share these documents, even though White says he would love for them to be transparent and show the world what they have.. And you know it really just began as us with our camera, taking these trips to Baltimore not knowing that it would ever even become anything.. Jean claims that Father Maskell took her to Sister Cathy's body and said to her, "See what happens when you say bad things about people.". Sharon May states firmly and rudely in her interview that she had absolutely no involvement in any sort of cover-up. In The Keepers another Keough graduate - Jean Hargadon-Wehner - talked on camera about her abuse by two priests, Neil Magnus and Joseph Maskell, and other men at the school. Not every story that Ryan White heard gets told in The Keepers. I'm not going to name names right now but they know stuff. Though they had an age difference of about six years, the two girls were very close growing up, even sharing the same bedroom. In 1969, at 26 years old, Cesnik faced an impasse in her life and career, Radakovic says. I was shocked, I was so shocked, Radakovic tells PEOPLE. Nugents insights on the matter will be featured in the Netflix series. There is one living suspect in Cesniks homicide, according to police spokeswoman Elise Armacost. She was "Jane Roe" in that ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit. They say they were trying to find enough evidence for viewers to conclude that the nun's murder, and the sexual abuse must be related. Her mutilated remains were found on January 1970 and her murder is still unsolved. Gerald KoobA close friend of Sister Cathys, who says his relationship with her was almost romantic. Marilyn Cesnik Radakovic's journey to find out what happened to her older sister, who died nearly 50 years ago, began last year when she read a news article with the headline "Buried in. She didnt know Jeanhad gone through that abuse. Oddly, her Ford Maverick, which she had recently purchased, was found just a block from her apartment parked illegally in a no parking area and unlocked. Teresa Lancaster (Jane Roe)The second plaintiff in the 1994 lawsuit against Maskell, Lancaster was known in the case as Jane Roe. After the failed lawsuit, she went to law school and became a lawyer, working with Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. Among the other errands she ran that night, Cesnik was also looking to buy a present for her sister. Find out what it is in TheWraps Q&A with White below. [1] Her body was discovered on January 3, 1970, near a garbage dump in the Baltimore suburb of Lansdowne. That means Father Maskell was somehow involved. Were you scared of taking on the Catholic Church? Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . Hargadon-Wehner's new book "Walking With Aletheia" details her healing process, and what she's learned from - she says - communicating with several different aspects of her personality. Marilyn Cesnik Radakovics journey to find out what happened to her older sister, who died nearly 50 years ago, began last year when she read a news article with the headline Buried in Baltimore.. I think that the impact of The Keepers has far exceeded our expectations, Hargrave said. The plaintiffs appealed. The Baltimore Sun reported in late 2016 that since 2011 the archdiocese has paid out settlements to Maskell's alleged victims. 'There were a lot of layers that if you peeled them back went a lot deeper. After Maskell died in 2001, the two women decided to go public, using their real names. There are many questions swirling around the death of Sister Catherine "Cathy" Cesnik, a beloved 26-year-old nun and teacher in Baltimore found . TheWrap: What was the process ofgetting this documentary together? Wehner, who reported her allegations about Maskell to the Baltimore Archdiocese in 1992, claimed that the only nun at the school who sought to help the abused girls was Sister Cathy. Sister Catherine 'Cathy' Cesnik, a pretty and popular 26-year-old nun who taught at an all-girls Catholic school in Baltimore, was last seen by her roommate, another nun, going off to shop on the evening of Friday November 7, 1969. Six years Cesniks junior, Radakovic grew up as her tag-along and daily charge, as Cesnik babysat while their parents worked. According to the Baltimore Sun, as evening fell on Nov. 7, 1969, Sister Catherine Cesnik left her unassuming apartment, heading to the Edmondson Village Shopping Center around 7:30 p.m. As far as her roommate, Sister Helen Russell Phillips, could tell, she was headed out to buy an engagement gift for her sister, as well as run a few errands. One former student, Teresa Lancaster claims she was sexually abused by Father Maskell as well as members of Baltimore police who took her to a wooded area and raped her in a car, Lancaster (right) said Maskell got away with his crimes by'power and fear.' Its important to take this confession from Koob with a grain of salt, as he is proven in the show to be less than the most reliable of witnesses, but, as White says, I dont know where the truth lies..